Store Single Sign On configuration on iASP

In solutions where the iASP and Single Sign On (SSO) is configured the challenge is to set the synchronization of the Enterprise Identity Mapping (EIM) between Prod and DR nodes. Such replication is done via Tivoli Directory Server. This mechanism is not easy to set up, difficult to manage and monitoring. Unfortunately this the only solution what IBM provides (officially). In this article I provide the procedure how to simplify it.

I’ve been asked several times – “Is it possible to store SSO configuration on the independent ASP” and forget about Tivoli replication? Yes, it is possible. It simplifies EIM synchronization a lot. Why? – Because only one EIM DB is stored on the iASP. Therefore, if the system fail-over to DR location, exactly the same DB shows up on the other side. Read below how to do it.

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HMC – Enhanced+ interface tricks

One of the most popular posts on my blog are these related to the HMC, functionality and management. Recently I’ve been invited by IBM research/development team to an adviser role in order to help with improvement the interface. Because at the same time,  I realized there are multiple things which were already added with the latest Service Packs but I was not aware of them. I decided to write this post and share the tricks which you may not know.

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VIOS 3.1 upgrade for everyone

I assume there are many installations which need to go to VIOS 3.1 by October 2020 due to end of support for VIOS 2.x. Because, I did not find any upgrade procedure for “dummies”, I decided to write one which I hope people find useful. I do not cover only the upgrade process itself, but also share some advises how to do it safely and recover in case of troubles. Upgrade Virtual I/O Server to 3.1 is completely different process than before. For instance, you are going to need an extra disk to perform the operation. Interested?

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New VIOS releases affect the Shared Ethernet Adapter (SEA) functionality

Long story short – how regular VIOS update ended with few weeks investigations completed with the serious VIOS bug and the APAR (IJ25390). The latest VIO releases contain a serious bug which may affect all VIOS/SEA client LPARs on IBM Power Servers.

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LPARKit – tool for managing VIOS from 5250 and cloning IBM i OS

I don’t think many people noticed this information yet, but recently a project which I was involved for last two years get live. My feeling is that many people do not understand the idea, thus I created a post explaining the functionality and possible usage. Read more about LPARKit below – tool which allows to create LPARs from 5250 and cloning IBM i OS. Continue reading “LPARKit – tool for managing VIOS from 5250 and cloning IBM i OS” →

Enable classic HMC GUI on release V9R1 – locked with HMC fix

How many of you are missing the old classic HMC GUI? Since version V8R8.7.0 we can run only new Enhanced GUI+ interface. Thus, POWER9 machines can be managed only by the Enhanced+ interface, right? In this post you can find a procedure how to start the classic GUI. even on the HMC running latest FW9.1. Continue reading “Enable classic HMC GUI on release V9R1 – locked with HMC fix” →

Recovering an invalided Load Source disk

As I wrote in the previous post, there might a situation when another/former load source disk become part of the LPAR configuration. IBMi OS configuration allows to run only with one valid load source, therefore the operating system will change a specific sector, making a former load source disk a regular disk. Therefore, this disk can’t be used as the Load Source never again. In this post I will describe what sector need to be changed in order to recover the disk, and reuse it in another configuration.

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IBMi – Copy the load-source disk FAQ

Process for copying the load source disk is sort of a black box. The copying process is straight forward, but there is no documentation ‘what if’. My assumption is because this is very sensitive operation, IBM does not want us to meddle with the process. I’ve created sort of summary for admins based on my experience ,and research made over hundreds copying processes.  I bet you won’t get this information thru any official channel.

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